Adriana Acosta Rivas Marketing, Communication & Country Brand Director Essential COSTA RICA

Adriana Acosta is the Marketing and Communication Director of PROCOMER (The Costa Rican Foreign Trade Promoter) and oversees the strategic direction of the country brand Essential Costa Rica. Adriana has more than 20 years of experience in marketing and advertising, and she had been the head of conception and development of strategies for brands of diverse sectors such as real state, wines and distillates, premium brands, services, and fast-moving consumer goods.

Prior to joining PROCOMER, Adriana as a Marketing Director and Senior Executive, developed marketing strategies, frame and conduct marketing research, develop customer journeys and lead the social media and advertising strategy for different clients and companies. She also explored her entrepreneur side creating and managing her own advertising agency for 8 years.

Adriana is graduate of the Costa Rica University of Communication and Advertising program and has an MBA in Marketing. She has experience developing new business, leading marketing teams, managing the relation with advertising, social media and public relations agencies, commercial partners, press media and events agencies and has served as the spokesperson of different companies.

Clare Dewhirst Director City Nation Place +447455 232830

Clare is the founder and director of City Nation Place, the global forum for place branding and place marketing.  City Nation Place creates connections and shares best practice between country brands, regional brands, and city brands around the world through articles, interviews, surveys, white papers, a membership group, and conferences.  

Clare’s interest in the complex area of place branding was sparked whilst working on a series of Nation Branding Masterclass events, led by Simon Anholt, one of the first thought-leaders to speak about and promote the concept of place branding.  Having listened to Simon address audiences in Accra, Delhi, Dubai, London and Singapore on how policy, governance, and symbolic actions need to combine with branding and marketing to create a competitive identity and drive economic growth, she continued to follow the growth in this sector.  Clare launched the first City Nation Place Global conference in London in 2015: CityNationPlace.com has been steadily building followers and in 2017, she launched the first City Nation Place Americas conference, in 2018 City Nation Place Asia Pacific took place in Singapore, and 2019 saw the first City Nation Place UK, specifically for towns, cities and regions across the UK, and the launch of the first City Nation Place LatAm & Caribbean event.  Clare manages the small team at City Nation Place alongside providing event consultancy and management for a number of clients in the publishing and trade association sector, including running the World Media Awards for the World Media Group  and event consultancy for the UK Association for Online Publishers.

Glenn Duncan Senior Vice President & CMO Ottawa Tourism

Glenn Duncan joined the Ottawa Tourism team in early 2011 bringing with him, to Canada’s Capital, extensive industry knowledge and experience. Previously employed by Edmonton Economic Development Corporation / Edmonton Tourism, Glenn has dedicated over 30 years to the tourism, hospitality and customer service industries in various management and sales capacities. Mr. Duncan’s current role as Senior VP & CMO sees him leading a team of dedicated professionals within the Meetings & Conventions, Sport & Cultural Event and Travel Trade sectors while overseeing & contributing to all marketing initiatives for the organization.

Throughout his career, Mr. Duncan has been active on many boards and committees and a contributing member of several industry related associations and societies. Glenn’s passion for sports and major event marketing has also seen him lend his energy and expertise to many sport organizations and events, including being involved in the inception of EEI (Edmonton Events International), implementing Ottawa’s Major Event strategy, as well as previously sitting on the board of the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance (CSTA).

Mr. Duncan continues to be a champion of and passionate spokesperson for Canadian tourism, perpetually building knowledge of product as well as global tourism industry trends and conditions.

David Gilbert President & CEO Destination Cleveland and Greater Cleveland Sports Commission

David Gilbert serves as President and CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, an organization dedicated to making Greater Cleveland the nation’s foremost destination for amateur sporting events and activities, and Destination Cleveland, the region’s destination marketing and management organization. He re-established the Sports Commission in 2000 and assumed his role with Destination Cleveland in 2011. From April 2015 through December 2017, David also served as the president and CEO of the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee for the Republican National Convention.

Greater Cleveland Sports Commission is responsible for attracting, creating, managing, and enhancing significant sporting and competitive events. Since 2000, the organization has attracted over 200 events including the NFL Draft, MLB All-Star Game, NBA All-Star Weekend and NCAA Women’s Final Four in addition to the upcoming 2024 Pan-American Maters Games. These events have contributed more than $820 million in local economic impact.

At Destination Cleveland, Gilbert is responsible for carrying out the organization’s mission to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality by positioning and promoting Cleveland as an exciting, vibrant destination. Under his leadership, visitation and economic impact increased dramatically for nine consecutive years (2011-2019) before the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. During that time, annual visitation grew at a pace greater than the U.S. visitation growth rate.

Gilbert serves as vice president on the board of the International Children’s Games, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and sits of the boards of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland and the U.S. Travel and Tourism Advisory Board of the Department of Commerce. He was named by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of Cleveland’s “30 influencers of the past 30 years,” Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and in 2016, he received the SME Cleveland Business Executive of the Year Award.

Gilbert has a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Cleveland State University.

Amy Knightley Director of Marketing & Communications New Zealand Story Group

Amy is the Director of Marketing and Communications for New Zealand Story, whose purpose is to protect, enhance and promote Brand New Zealand to expand Aotearoa New Zealand’s reputation and value internationally. Amy is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Starship Foundation, which fundraises for New Zealand’s national children’s hospital. Amy is an advocate of using insights, storytelling and world-class creative to shift perceptions and enhance consideration.

Aleksandra Lipej Global Communications Manager Slovenian Tourist Board

Global Communications Manager at Slovenian Tourist Board

With over 15 years of expertise in media, TV production, PR, and acclaimed marketing projects, she thrives on creativity and remains attuned to emerging trends in communication strategies. At the Slovenian Tourist Board, she's deeply engaged in promoting Slovenia as a premier tourist destination, collaborating with international journalists, preparing press trips, and contributing to numerous creative projects, making her role nothing short of a dream job.

Maria Lypiatska Head of BRAND UKRAINE and Strategic Communications Advisor Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ukraine

Maria is a strategic communication and nation branding expert.

With over ten years of professional experience in both public and international sectors, Maria has expertise in global PR and communications, public administration, and nation branding. Maria has managed international projects and communication activities for Vice-Prime-Minister’s Office on European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

As a Strategic Communications Advisor to the Foreign Minister of Ukraine, Maria provides policy advice on public diplomacy and country promotion. Over the last three years, she has set up an official digital ecosystem of Ukraine Ukraine.ua that has reached unprecedented global audiences of 700 mln, developed the Public Diplomacy Strategy of Ukraine, and launched a range of successful country promotion campaigns.

Currently, as the Head of BRAND UKRAINE, Maria is responsible for Ukraine’s brand development.

Maria holds a Master in International Relations from Kyiv Taras Shevchenko National University, Ukraine, and Master in Communication for Development from Malmo University, Sweden.

Mark Mobbs Place Brand and Marketing Manager Marketing Sheffield

Mark has a BA in Philosophy and MA in Film, and has worked on everything from film scripts to vineyards, and he’s even been a Ranger for the Department of Conservation in New Zealand.

His career in brand and communications has included some of the world’s most renowned agencies on award winning work across all sectors – from re-branding Legal & General to overhauling Warburtons.

Having worked agency side on creating a new brand for his home city in 2018, he jumped ship from agency to client side to drive Sheffield forwards and re-position the city in a way that will change perceptions.

In 2019 Sheffield was shortlisted as CNPs Place Brand of the Year, and was finalist for the Academy of Urbanism’s European City of the Year. In 2020 there was another shortlisting for CNP’s Campaign of the Year, and in 2021 Sheffield was declared the UK’s greenest city by a NatWest report.

Andrea Nylund City Innovation Lead, Oslo Business Region, and Co-Developer Branding Oslo

Andrea is a serial entrepreneur with experience launching and scaling companies in energy, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. Originally from California, she relocated to Oslo in 2017 and has had various roles focused on building Oslo’s innovation ecosystem. As City Innovation Lead at Oslo Business Region, the city’s business development agency, she helps technology startups scale through innovative pilot projects, talent attraction and retention initiatives, and international brand building.

Prior to joining Oslo Business Region, Andrea was Special Advisor, International Brand Management at Oslo Region Alliance, representing 65 municipalities in the Greater Oslo Region. She developed programs and tools for attracting and retaining international talent and investment in close collaboration with municipalities, industry clusters, incubators, corporates, and academic institutions.

She co-developed Oslo's brand guide, "Branding Oslo," a joint project by Oslo Region Alliance, VisitOSLO and Oslo Business Region. The guide is a digital summary of Oslo’s Brand Management Strategy, first conceived in 2015 and still in use today.

Louisa Shaw Head of Place Marketing We Are Staffordshire

Louisa Shaw is the Place Brand Manager at We Are Staffordshire, a new approach to promoting and marketing the county, funded by Staffordshire County Council.

Louisa is working with Staffordshire’s Place Board of business leaders and partners to develop and promote a vibrant new place brand and narrative for Staffordshire, maximising opportunities to promote inward investment, support visitor economy, and generate economic growth across the county.

With over a decade's experience in destination marketing, Louisa has led complex marketing and community engagement programmes for major infrastructure and regeneration developments in the Midlands and wider UK.

Kata Varblane Brand Ambassador, County Promotion Department Enterprise Estonia

Kata Varblane is a dedicated brand envoy of Estonia. She leads the newly founded Country Promotion Department at Enterprise Estonia, a government agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. The Country Promotion Department is responsible for developing the Estonian country brand and boosting the cooperation between Enterprise Estonia’s international marketing and PR units (tourism, FDI, trade, talent, startup, e-residency). For 8 years, she worked as the Deputy Director of Marketing and International Relations at the Estonian Investment Agency. She continuously pioneers digital tools and solutions that redefine the client journey, embodying the essence of creative and efficient e-Estonia. She is dedicated to helping innovative businesses and people benefit from the most advanced digital society in the world by spreading the word about Estonian developments and telling Estonian stories.